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N0. 624,953. Patelfed May 16, |899.

J. H. LOADER. MEANS' FUR PROPELLING VESSELS.

(Application led Dec. 20, 1897.)

3 Sheets-Sheet l.

No. 624,953. Patented May I6, |899.`

J. H.LUADER.

MEANS FUR PROPELLING VESSELS.

(Appxicaeim med nac, 2o, 1897.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

No. 624,953. Patented May I6, |899.

J. H. LUADEB.

MEANS FDR PBUPELLING VESSELS.

(Application led Dec. 20, 1897.) (llojlndal.) 3 Sheets-Sheetxl UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES HENRY LOADER, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

MEANS FOR PRoPl-:LLING vEssELs.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 624,953, dated May 1e, 1899.

Application flied December 20,1`6e7. serial No. 662,679. No man.)

T0 LZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES HENRY LOADER, a subject of the Queen of England, residing at London, England,'have invented certain new and useful Improvements in or Relating to the Propulsion of Vessels, of which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to the propulsion of vessels of Various kinds and may be carried out in the following manner: I arrange one or more tubes in or in connection with the hull of the vessel, each tube serving conveniently as a keelson and being open at each end to the water, although it may be provided with covers or valves in order to shut out the water when required. In this tube are one or more reciprocating pistons or equivalents, hereinafter termed floats/and each adapted to turn so that when moving in one direction it substantially closes the tube and acts against the column of water within it to propel the ship and when moving in the other direction it feathers or turns edgewise in the tube, so as to leave a free waterway on each side of the iioat. The reciprocation of the lioats may be effected by one or more steam-cylinders, the floats being carried upon the same or separate rods and the cylinders being arranged beside the tube or at the end of it or as found most convenient. Any convenient valve arrangement may be adopted for eecting the distribution of steam in the steam-cylinders and for reversing the movement of the pistons therein at the end of each stroke. Switch or equivalent automatic mechanism is so arranged that when it is desired to propel the vessel in one direction each float is turned to present `its face aft, say, when making its propelling stroke and its edges fore and aft when making the return stroke, and vice versa to drive the vessel in the opposite direction.

' The water-tube may extend forpractically the whole length of the vessel or only7 a portion thereof, as desired, and it will be understood that I may employ a long steam-cylinder the stroke of which Would equalthat of the float in the water-tube, or I may operate the float by gearing or other mechanism from a steam-cylinder of short stroke. Either simple or'compound engines may be employed for `driving the floats.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, one Inode of carrying out my invention, Figurel is a diagrammatic longitudinal section of a ships hull, showing a single main tube in place'therein. Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 2 2 of Fig. l. illustrating the general arrangement of motorcylinders and their appurtenances relatively to the fore-and-aft main tube. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are vertical sections on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3, showing the feathering-floats and feathering mechanism in the different positions they take up during the propulsion of the Vessel, as hereinafter described. Fig. 7 is a transverse section on the line 7 7 of Fig. 5. Fig. 8 is aview of part of the interior of the main tube. Fig. -9is an enlarged horizontal sectional view of the feather-operating mechanism, parts being broken away.- Figs. 4, 5, and

6 are drawn to a larger scale than Figs. 1, 2, and 3, and Figs. 7 and 8 are drawn to a still larger scale.

A is the main tube, which lies fore .and aft Fig. 3 is a plan View of the hull,`

such tubes parallel with each other on opposite sides of the keel, so as to get twin propelling mechanism. Only one tube, however, is employed in the examples illustrated.

B are slnice-valves, one at each end of the main tube, in order that it may be closed to access of the sea, if necessary. Ordinarily, however, the sluice-valves are open, and the tube affords a Waterway through the ship from one end, to the other. Y

Al is a cover, removable to allow the interior of the tube to be inspected from inboard.

C C are the motor-cylinders, disposed within the ship at opposite sides of the tube A, one forward and the other aft.

D D' are the valve-chests of the cylinders C C', respectively. These valve-chests are supplied with steam or other motive fluid from any suitable source and are fitted with valves capable of being operated by tappet or other mechanism forming no part of the present invention.

The cylinder C, the ,float operated by it, and the feathering-gear and other appurtenances of both will now be described. The description thereof will serve also as a description of the similar parts, including the lioat H4, simiroo larly arranged to coperate with the cylinder C', which will then not need to be particularly described. Within the cylinder C is a piston with two piston-rods E E extending through stuffing-boxes F on the cylinder-cover.

G is a long closed water-tight casing bolted onto the side of the main tube A in line with the cylinder C to receive the piston-rod E, which passes into it through a stuffing-box G. For the casing G, I may substitute a coverplate bolted to guides, between which the piston-rod E is situated. The other piston-rod Ef of each cylinder is connected to the outside cross-heads N or N', which latter are connected to each other in the manner hereinafter described. Within the water-tight casing the wall of the main cylinder A, to which the casing G is bolted, is slotted fore and aft, and

. through this slot extends the cross-head E2,

constituting a connection between a feathering-tloat H, which is to be reciprocated in the tube, and that one of thepiston-rods E by which the float H is driven. The float H is pivoted to the cross-head E2 on a long pin H', carried by the latter, so as to be able to r0- tate about a horizontal axis extending transversely across the main tube A. Thus it will be seen that when the piston-rod E is reciprocated it causes in the present example the feathering-float to travel backward and forward in the tube A for nearly half the length of the latter. The switch device by which the float H is caused to feather-thatis to say, to rotate at the beginning and end of its reciprocation-will now be described. Upon.

one side of the oat two rollers H2 H3 are j ournaled at points approximately equidistant from the pin-H or axis of rotation of the float. On the inside of the main tube A are devices which act upon these rollers to produce the required feathering action. In the present instance cam-plates I and J, with their acting surfaces l' J' horizontal'and I2 J2 inclined upward and toward each other, are fixed inside the tube A at the ends of the path of the fioat l'I. Between and below these cams and also inside the tube is a barK,held upon a pivot L and having ends K K2, beveled, as shown, in approximate correspondence with the bevel of the inclined faces I2 J2 of the cams I J. This bar K is the switch and, together with its companion bars at the other end of the tube, is connected with an adjusting-lever K2, by which it is adjustable on the pi vot L, so that it will bear with one end K2 on the cam-face J2, leaving a clear passage-way between the end K and cam-face I2, as in Fig. 4, or reversely, so that it bears with the end K against the cam-face I2, leaving a clear passage-way between the end K2 and the cam-surface J2, as in Fig. 6. The adjusting device for the bar K is elastic or is otherwise constructed so as to normally retain the bar in either position of inclination to whichit may have been adjusted,while permitting it to yield momentarily for purposes hereinafter explained. For instance, the 1ever K2 may be held after adjustment by a spring instead of being rigidly locked.

Let it be assumed for the sake of explanation that the bar K has been adjusted in the position indicated at the left-hand end of Fig. 4 and that the float H is in the position indicated in full lines in that figure, being about to move to the left. In the position in which it is at present shown both rollers H2 H3 upon it bear against the horizontal portion of the cam J, so that the float can only move forward edgewise. As it moves from under the cam J it travels along the under side of the bar K, which by acting on the rollers H2 H8 keeps the float horizontal in the same manner as the cam J, andafter passing from under the bar K it is maintained horizontal by the other cam I, arriving at the end of its stroke in the position at which it is indicated in dotted lines at the left hand of Fig. 4. K On the return stroke of the iioat the roller H3 meets with theinclined upper edge of the end K of the bar K, which causes that roller to rise and the fioat to turn, like the float H1 in Fig. 6, about its transverse axis and lie across the tube in a vertical plane, as at X, Fig. 4, forcing a column of water therethrough in the direction of the arrow until the float in its movement brings the roller I-Ia against the inclined face J 2 of the cam J, which retards it while the axis of the float travels on. Thus the float i's brought once more into the feathering position from which it started. The bar L yields to allow the roller H3 to force its way between it and the cam J while the float turns, as described, from the propelling to the feathering position.

The float operates somewhat in the manner of an oar, proceeding one way along the tube in a vertical position and returning ed gewise, and if it be desired to reverse the direction in which'the ship is propelled it is necessary merely to tilt the bar K from the position in which it is shown in Fig. 4 into the position in which it is shown in Fig. 6, under which circumstances the stroke from right to left of the drawings will be the propelling stroke, thrusting a column of water along the tube A in the direction indicated by the arrow, and the stroke from left to right will be the feathering stroke--that is to say, the conditions will be the converse of those which existed in the preceding example. The engines therefore need not be reversed when the action of the iioats is to be reversed.

In Fig. 5 the bar K is supposed to have been adjusted'as in Fig. 6 below it, but is shown as yielding to allow the two rollers H2 H3 to pass between its end K2 and the bar M. A bar M with beveled ends is fixed to the side of the tube Abelow eachV bar K in order that while one of the rollers on each lioat travels above the bar K during the propelling stroke the other roller passing, as it does, below the bar M will prevent the lioat from being feathered until the end of the propelling stroke.

IIO

As aforesaid, there are two lsteam-cylinders C C', disposed toward opposite ends of the main tube A, the float H being operated by mechanism under the control of the cylinder C and a similar float H4 being operated by the cylinder C'. The feathering devices and the arrangements for connecting the steampiston with the l'loat H1 are similar to those hereinbefore described with reference to float H and, as aforesaid, need not be particularly described.

To prevent the floats from turning to feather, except at the ends of their strokes, I may prolvide within the tube A at the side opposite to the bars K and M such a device as is illustrated in Fig. 8, wherein the sides ofthe tube A are formed as guide-bars Hhaving a groove H6 between them, in which lits a rectangular or other projection Q on that float. The groove is widened at the ends H6 H7, and when the lioat arrives opposite those widened portions it can be turned; but when the float is opposite the narrow portions of the groove it can only be horizontal or vertical, because the projection Q' will not enter the groove H6 eX- cept Vthe float is in one of those two positions.

In order that easy and continuous propelling action may be obtained, I preferably employ two floats, such as H H4 in the examples illustrated, and these two floats are so arranged and connected that, for instance, while one moves aft making its propelling stroke, the other is moving forward and making a feathering stroke, the last-named float will in turn make its propelling stroke while the iirst -named float makes a feathering stroke, and so on. To Vinsure the retention of the two floats in their proper relative positions for this alternate modeof action, the piston-rods of the two cylinders C O are outside the casings Gr and are each provided with cross-heads N N', respectively, and these cross-heads are connected to each other by chains O and rods P, as shown, the equivalent of an endless chain. The chains D pass around pulleys Q, turning on fixed pivots supported at opposite ends of lthe tube. The crossheads being thus connected, the power of both the cylinders is applied to effect the propelling stroke of each float, the piston ot' one cylinder acting directly on its float and that of the other acting through the chains O and rods P.

I claim l. In propelling means for vessels, the combination of a water-passage extending longitudinally of the vessel at the bottom thereof, and open at both ends to permit water to llow therethrough from one end to the other, a pivotedV lloat within the passage, means for reciprocating the float, and switches within the water-passage engaged by the float, said switches being adapted to turn the float upon its pivot, at the terminals of its movement, substantially as described,

2. In'propelling means for vessels, the co1n switches within the passage engaged by the Y float, said switches comprising shiftingI members and being adapted to turn the Iioat upon its pivot at the terminals of its movement, and means for positively actuating the shifting members of the switches, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereto set my hand in the presence of the two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES HENRY LOADER.

Witnesses: v

HARRY B. BRIDGE, A; D. HoAG. 

